Iran live updates: 7th killed service member is identified

A U.S. service member has died from injuries received during the initial attacks by the Iranian regime across the Middle East, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Sunday.

The service member, whose name was not immediately released, was seriously wounded on March 1 in an Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, according to CENTCOM.

Seven service members have now been killed in action during Operation Epic Fury, which was launched on Feb. 28, according to CENTCOM.

Six service members died Feb. 28 in the same attack at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, a commercial harbor that doubles as a logistics hub for the U.S. military.

In addition to the dead, a U.S. official told ABC News that nine U.S. service members have been seriously wounded from attacks across the region.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that it killed five Iranian senior commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a strike on a hotel in Beirut, Lebanon.

The commanders were targeted by the Israeli Navy, according to the IDF. The commanders were part of the IRGC's Quds Force's Lebanon Corps, which serves as a central liaison between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and the Iranian regime, the IDF said.

"Its senior officials synchronize activities across the various terrorist organizations operating in Lebanon. The commanders eliminated in the strike were advancing terrorist activity across Lebanon while hiding in a civilian hotel," the IDF said.

The commanders were targeted following the elimination of the commander of the Lebanon Corps, Daoud Ali Zadea, last week, the IDF said.

-ABC News' Dorit Long

The State Department said Sunday that it is now aware of 32,000 Americans who have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since fighting began in Iran.

The figures do not include many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States, officials said.

The State Department said it has completed nearly two dozen charter flights that have safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East.

While commercial flight availability across the region continues to improve, the State Department's charter flights and ground transport operations continue to ramp up as security conditions allow, Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for Global Public Affairs, said in a statement on X.

"At this time, more than half of American citizens who requested help departing turn down U.S. Government-provided transportation options when contacted. Some American citizens wish to remain in country, while others prefer an alternative departure option," Johnson said.

Through the State Department's around-the-clock Task Force, the agency has directly assisted more than 19,000 Americans abroad, offering security guidance and travel assistance, Johnson said.

Johnson said Americans in need of travel assistance in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel should complete the Crisis Intake Form.

Americans in the Middle East who need assistance can call the U.S. Department of State at (202) 501-4444.

-ABC News' Chris Boccia

A member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for choosing the leader of the Islamic Republic, said Sunday that the majority of assembly members want the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, to be Iran's next leader.

No official decision has been made, but it is the first time an assembly member has publicly spoken out.

"The enemy is trying to disrupt a majority in-person meeting of the Assembly of Experts by attacks, but the members of the Assembly of Experts have practically reached an option," Asgar Dirbaz, member of the Assembly of Experts, said in an interview with the Mehr News Agency.

"The majority's opinion is in favor of the son of His Eminence (i.e., Ali Khamenei's son)," Dirbaz added.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian